Anyone see it on BBC2 on Monday? I thought it was dire! Am I just getting old, or did anyone else think the same....

Tired jokes very little material... Harry Potter jokes about 3 years out of date.

expect more from such a good comedy writer.

I gave it about 3 seconds while channel effing.

I thought it was a bit hit and miss. His dead plan delivery and immaculate timing are still hilarious, but the material was a bit outdated at times, and why he chooses to do those stupid bits where he just says the same thing over and over again for several minutes ('the rap singers') I've no idea, it's just not funny and a waste of time. Also did anyone else notice how, after all these years, parts of his act really missed Richard Herring? Several times Stew put on a Richard Herring style voice to ask himself a question, if you closed your eyes it could have been their old show!

Having said all that, still more funny than anything else on a Monday night, and glimpses here and there of great comedy, so I'll still be watching next week (albeit with vastly reduced expectation).

But he likes The Fall... therefore he must be good.

I thought much the same, patchy, but always spot-on in his targets, and I haven't heard enough Harry Potter and Dan Brown-bashing amidst all the brown-nosing, so that's just fine by me. And anyone who want to lay into Moyles and Clarkson gets my approval.

'The rap singers' bit was just a bad idea, though .

the riff on the rap singers is the sort of thing Harry Hill could carry off (and frequently does) because of his ridiculous alter ego - but as straight stand up doesn't work!

You were doing what with the channel ?

How does a filter want to change f.licking to effing?

It's an unfortunate side effect of the various ways that it deals with one of the most common swear words. Replace li with u if you're not sure.

That just occurred to me also.

F LI C K I N G. clever.
remove this post if neccessary.

back on topic. not a fan of Stewart Lee myself.

I saw him live back last Autumn and it was pretty much the same set. At the time I felt like I was one of the only people who enjoyed but I'm sure it wasn't that bad. I guess he's an acquired taste but I'll definitely be watching it again as on his day he's my favourite comedian.

Shockingly poor tonight. Laughed about 3 times during the entire 30 minutes, and the last 5 mins consisted of a man destroying an 'apple shop' whilst the owner threw apples at him and a woman played a trombone.

I used to love Stewart Lee because he made comedy that was more clever and less obvious than most stand ups, there was a huge amount of deliberate irony in much of what he said that mainstreamers might not have got / found funny. But the show tonight was almost like he's trying to be too sublime, too ironic, to the point where he's almost saying 'watch this, the irony is that it's so rubbish that it's not even funny'. Terrible. Might not bother even watching next week.

I don't rate him.

Unfortunately I might have to agree with you Jim. I haven't watched the latest episode but I've seen the others and they just haven't hit the spot. I think you very accurately described the comedic process he goes through and I think he's determined to make a stand for the sort of humour he believes in and in doing so he's forgotten (or, worse, isn't concerned) that the key objective is to make the audience laugh. It's a real shame and I hope he has some close friends that he listens to who are able to point him in the right direction.

Saw this - it was woeful. The performers must have been thinking "what the hell am I doing here". It came across like an unfunny skit from a halls of residence talent show.

Anyone watching the new series? It's much better IMO, moved to a later slot (11.30 Wednesdays) and they've reined in some of his more self-indulgent behaviour - Armando Ianucci is involved, not sure whether he has some bearing on it. It's really good, though, some proper laugh-out-loud moments:

Parts of his act are OK but he tends to drag out a joke far too long

i like series two alot .

The best comedy on tv at the mo .


last weeks identity was top draw .

My main issue is he's a Marmite comedian, my wife hates him and I love him (so much so that when we saw him live she fell asleep!). It's fitting him into our viewing schedule when she's busy and I can squeeze him in. I can fully see why others don't like him but there's just something about his slow drawl and ultra patient build-up up that completely draws me in.

You either get him or you don't. He knows that too, that is why his 'vehicle' plays a lot on the paying audience who know what to expect against the tv audience at home who are maybe trying to fathom him out.
He does like to dig at fellow stand ups, such as the big names who perform at the O2 and can charge up to £120, but does it in a clever way. A great piece from him was the one on Russell Howard (one of his regular targets), and who else would have called Adrian Chiles a toby jug that somehow learned to speak?
I only watched this weeks show last night, the Scotch male gene bit was pure gold.
You could say he is the complete flip side to a traditional comedian like Milton Jones, who I think is appallingly bad.

After holidays have just been catching up on the episodes I missed.

Episode 4 was superb, 5 was also good but all the Scottish material is a repeat of a show he did (in Glasgow I think) several years ago, so that's a bit disappointing.

He's an enigma for me - probably the cleverest comedian I've ever seen in some ways (genuinely clever, not 'oh look how crazy and surreal I am' Eddie Izzard clever, which doesn't really work for me) and yet irritatingly repetitive in others. At least in this series he has moved away from his old egotistical way of assuming that he is right about everything and anyone who doesn't agree with him is an idiot, especially politics, religion and any 'social' matters, for example political correctness.

I do indeed wonder how many people actually do 'get' him, not meaning to be cruel but most of my friends wouldn't have a clue what was going on, or (worse) would actually take everything he says at face value (I'm talking about the sort of people who find Jim Davidson funny).

For me, the best thing Stewart Lee has ever done remains the 'Joe Pasquale' joke:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YE9Kthyaco

He can be funny, but Lead Balloon seems to cover much the same ground......

And Sadowitz had the best opening line

(Will listen to the rest after the Latin Music doc on BBC4.)

That bit is only my best bit ever because of the very last thing he says in that clip...

You have a clip of Sadowitz?

Undoubtedly the funniest act, ever. 100% pure comic gold

No I meant the end of Lee's Joe Pasquale bit.

Strangely, being someone who has had a deep passion for stand up for many years, I never really thought Sadowitz was that funny. Maybe that's the greatest beauty of comedy, one man's trash is another man's treasure...

Slightly off topic, but Lead Balloon is quite good - but pales compared to Curb your enthusiasm.

The bit about lead balloon that doesn't work is that, his wife would leave him - he has no redeeming features...

Thats taken me back 20 years: i was at a comedy club in Covent Garden and the "get out of my garden" line was the opener ...................... i thought it was genius and have been repeating it back to people since ................... no one ever got it!!!!! Must have been the guy Lee is talking about (no not Pasquali!)

I mean Sadowitz at Montreal, rather than his general stand up

Outnumbered has it's moments, not seen Curb your Enthusiasm......